Non-print equipment & services: Tripod movements

Dolly: to move the camera and tripod (on wheels) toward or away from the subject.
“Dolly in” or “Dolly out”

Truck: to move the camera laterally (on wheels) to the left or right
“Truck left” or “Truck right”

Pan: a horizontal movement of the camera only (While the tripod remains stationary)
“Pan left” or “Pan right”

Tilt: an up and down movement of the camera only (while the tripod remains stationary)
Both panning and tilting adds variety to the image.

Zoom: a movement of the camera le ns to make the image larger and closer or the image smaller and further away
“Zoom in” or “Zoom out”

Tips:

• When doing any of these movements, be sure to move slow and steady.
• Plan the movement ahead of time.
• Do another take without a movement, just in case.

Composition tips
To avoid boring straight-on shots, shoot from a side angle.

To avoid cutting off the top of subject’s head, give some “head room”.

To avoid an unbalanced shot, center subject closer to the middle of the frame.

To avoid your subject running into a “wall”, give some “lead room”.

Terms
Head room: the amount of space on top of subject
Lead room: the amount of space in front of subject